Now a days, the Topps baseball card company signs pretty much every minor league baseball player to a contract allowing them the opportunity to make a baseball card of that player should they see fit. Back in the 1950’s, it was an entirely different process. Thus was the case that Los Angeles Dodgers great Maury Wills was passed over as then Topps employee Turk Karam didn’t think enough of Wills, who was then participating in a spring training tryout with the Detroit Tigers, to offer him a contract. The story link below looks at the Wills oversight and how he eventually came to sign with Topps competitor Fleer who produced baseball cards for a short time in the 1960’s before finally resurfacing again in 1981. It’s a great historical read for any baseball card collector.

Did Topps turn down a deal on Maury Wills because he was such a bad prospect? — LATimes.com